Budapest Airport processes record levels of cargo in first half of 2017

The Hungarian capital recorded 49,420 tonnes of air cargo, up 16.7 per cent, and 22,741 tonnes of trucked cargo, up 26.5 per cent compared to last year.

Impressive July cargo figures

July figures grew 16 per cent to 10,729 tonnes, including 7,432 tonnes of airfreight, up 15.5 per cent on July 2016, and 3,297 tonnes of trucked freight, up 17.2 per cent.

“Budapest has a balanced market share, with inbound cargo at 47 per cent in the first half of the year, and outbound cargo at 53 per cent,” said Jozsef Kossuth, Cargo Manager, Budapest Airport.

“All segments of our community, including freighters, belly cargo, and integrators enjoyed volume increase in this period compared to 2016, which was already a record cargo year at Budapest Airport.”

Capitalising on hub position

The Central European hub grew thanks to new cargo flows from long-haul passenger routes, via operators including Emirates and Air China, in addition to volume increase from such freighter partners as Qatar Airways Cargo, Cargolux, and Turkish Cargo.

“Budapest Airport benefits from an extensive road network to 20 EU and non-EU countries within trucking distance of our airport,” said René Droese, Property and Cargo Director, Budapest Airport.

“Together with the airline development team at Budapest, we have leveraged a strong belly cargo network, with Air Canada having already commenced seasonal flights to Budapest, and American Airlines scheduled to launch a daily service from Philadelphia, USA, to Budapest in the summer of 2018.

“The Polish flag carrier LOT Polish Airlines will also launch six direct flights per week from Budapest to New York and Chicago in May 2018, creating an additional direct link between the USA and Hungary.”

Budapest Airport is transforming its cargo facilities – as part of the BUD:2020 Development Programme – which includes two state-of-the-art express facilities and a dedicated freight centre called Cargo City.